Service Stands?

What works for folks? I ordered this stand from CRF's only:

http://www.crfsonly.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/1736



But I found out that it's too tall to fit under our bike. I can wrestle the 250 onto it with a bunch of work, but it's clunky. Once on, the arm also doesn't provide enough leverage to lift the bike up, even with my full weight bouncing on that arm. (the stand does work great for my wife's TT-R125LE though, which has more ground clearance and is about 120 pounds lighter, so I'll keep it).

Is there a better stand I can order instead? Are people using standard swingarm lifts like sportbikes? If so, how do you get the front end up? Thanks for any tips or links.

 

I don't really use stands. What are you trying to do?

 

At the moment, nothing. But I imagine I'll need to clean and lube the chain reasonably often, adjust it from time to time, and take the wheels on and off for new tubes/tires. Also, when adding gadgets to bikes, I find it easier when the bike is straight up and down and more stable than just leaning on a kickstand. I use pitbull standard front & rear stands on the other bikes that don't have centerstands.

 

I gotcha. Personal preference thing. I can dig it.

 

Maybe, but I think I'm not following. How would you remove a wheel to replace a tire?

 

Either a jack placed strategically, or a well placed tire on the ground with the bike on top of it. My mode of thinking has always been, why pay money for certain things when I can just use what's around me. It's come in handy when a break down occurs.

 

Makes sense, thx!

 

wheni lube the chain i usually put sidestand down lean it over and secure it to my front porch withtie down strap.. have used this method with a tree at side of trail to change tires before or fix a flat.. works well.

 

Got it - the bike rests on the front wheel, the sidestand, and the strap keeps the rear wheel slightly in the air. Seems like a quick and easy way to get the job done.

 

Have yet to need to break a front tire down on the trail, but I suspect a log or rock would do.

 

I have a heavy homemade wooden table. A garage wall works nicely if you just add a couple of screw eyes to get some tie downs onto. I pull the bike up to the table and use tie downs and a canyondancer to secure the front end to the bench as though I were strapping it to the bed of my truck. Then I lift up the rear end and slide my $2 Home Depot 5 gallon bucket underneath the frame. Easy peasy to remove the rear tire. Turn the bike around if you need to remove the front wheel... For oil changes I just strap the bike to the bench without the bucket. In my opinion, those little stands are really just for track use. I had a dr650 fell off a small lift stand and did more damage than I ever did riding (er, crashing) it.

 

I am fabricating a cheap easy way to get the wheel off the ground. It will use the sidestand and........... a sawn off adjustable lower part of an adjustable aluminum crutch.
got the crutches at a second hand store cheap! Lightweight, adjustable will ziptie to the underside of my rear tail rack. The tiedown strap idea or (I use my small tow strap) works great too if there happens to be a tree close to the trail for flats or something else you can tie off to leaning the bike far enough over for getting the wheel off.

 

This is what I'm getting when I have the dosh: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UM9GDM...TF8&colid=25DAJKS2SXGUF&coliid=I3JP8DS5OEWVSL